How to run Windows on any device with Windows 365? (Including Xbox, Mac and iPad)

Sounds amazing right? This is an amazing way of running Windows desktop operating system on any device. This method works on any device as long as that device has an internet connection and runs an internet browser on it. For this, we will be using a service by Microsoft, known as Windows 365. This service will basically stream the screen of a windows desktop on your device, and will also allow you to interact with it. Please note, this service will require user to pay for a subscription and therefore is not free.

How does this work?

Whenever you log into the service, a virtual machine running windows desktop operating system (here known as Windows Client OS) gets provisioned on one of the servers on cloud, and is located in one of the data centres of Microsoft. This service then basically establishes a connection to this machine, such the we are able to interact with the windows desktop environment, by the help of internet connection. The data on the device will remain persistent. You will be able to continue your work exactly from where you left last time.

There are two ways to access this machine running windows operating system:

1. By logging onto windows using internet browser (that supports HTML5).
2. By installing the RDP client on your device.

For the first method, the device simply streams the screen of the device (running the windows desktop OS on cloud) onto your device’s browser. Just like streaming a video in your browser. Any browser with HTML5 support and active internet connection (good enough to stream a video) is capable to run this service. This method is preferable for device which do not have a supported RDP client and which have limited hardware capablities.

For second method to work, it requires device to be running the RDP client server. This service uses something known as RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). This allows user to connect to another computer (in this case the server device which is running windows desktop operating system) using its own device over a network. This method is recommended for best overall experience and is recommended by Microsoft.

Steps to run the service

1. Firstly, you will need visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-365 and sign-up for Windows 365 subscription. There are two options available: business (for smaller organisations upto 300 employees) and enterprise (for organisations more than 300 employees). Both further have further three tiers available: Basic (4 GB RAM, 128 GB storage), Standard (8 GB RAM, 128 GB storage) and Premium (16 GB RAM, 128 GB storage).
2. Now, to connect with your Windows desktop, either you will need a HTML5 supporting internet browser, or RDP client installed on your device.

For running on browser, just visit on https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-365 and log-in with same ID with which you’ve signed-up subscription for Windows 365. Your PC will appear on the console. Just click on “open in browser button”.

For Xbox, you can use Microsoft Edge to visit the mentioned website, log-in to your subscription ID and run Windows on your Xbox gaming console!

For devices running Windows, Mac, iOS and Android you can also download Microsoft RDP client and connect to your Windows 365 machine using that for better experience. You will just need to login with same ID (in RDP clinet) with which you signed up subscription. Here are the links to download Microsoft RDP client for each platform:

For Windows: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/p/microsoft-remote-desktop/9wzdncrfj3ps?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

For Mac: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id1295203466?mt=12

For iOS (iPhone and iPad): https://apps.apple.com/in/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id714464092

For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.rdc.androidx&hl=en_IN&gl=US

That’s it! You’ve your own Windows PC on any device of your choice! You can access it anywhere, at anytime!

What are the benefits?

Now, let’s see what benefits cloud based desktop service like Windows 365 offers compared to conventional desktop setup:

1. Firstly, you are not required to invest in any kind of new hardware to run Windows. Otherwise without this service, one might had to buy a Windows laptop/PC separately which would’ve been more costly.
2. Since the service has a subscription model, you can end it anytime you want. If instead one would’ve bought a new laptop, he/she might have invested a certain amount of money to buy it, which is now useless for them and they might have to sell it at a much lower price (since laptops generally lose quite a lot of value in short time). Hence, this will also help in reducing e-waste in our society.
3. If your usage has increased (or your hardware has become outdated), and you are now required to upgrade your machine, you can simply upgrade your Windows 365 subscription to a higher spec machine. Instead of doing hassle to physically upgrading the RAM, storage or processor of your machine. Nowadays, laptops have become even more difficult to upgrade. It might happen some person might need to buy a new laptop altogether since their older laptop doesn’t allow them to upgrade certain specification of their laptop, which will again cost more money.
4. Continuous availability is another advantage. You are not required to have your machine physically present with you. You can just access it with any device which has an internet connection and an internet browser. And the best part is, you can continue your work exactly from where you left last time!
5. The best part is you can access your Windows PC on any device! Some people might prefer to carry a lighter device like their smartphone or tablet. So, they don’t have to worry about carrying a bigger laptop everywhere or investing in a newer laptop which is more portable. Instead of carrying two different devices (tablet and laptop), they can just login with their preferred device and that’s it! People with Apple ecosystem who might require Windows for certain work can now simply opt for Windows 365 instead of buying a new device.

Please note: At the time of writing this article, Microsoft only provides Windows 10 for Windows 365 service, and does not provide Windows 11 at least until now. Though, Microsoft has stated on its website that Windows 11 will be available with Windows 365 later this year when Windows 11 will be released for the normal consumers.